Funds are requested to provide partial support for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Biology of Aging. The theme of the 2004 conference will be "Aging Mechanisms and Disease" to be held at the Centre Paul Langevin, Aussois, France, 12th - 17th September, 2004. Drs. Gordon J. Lithgow, Julie K. Andersen and Thomas von Zglinicki will organize the scientific program. Our aim here is to provide funds to support invited speakers, discussion leaders and to support the expenses of 10 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and new, junior faculty who would benefit from and contribute to the conference. The speakers we have invited are internationally recognized for their research, are excellent presenters and will prompt exciting discussion. The 2004 Biology of Aging Gordon Research Conference will focus on the interface of aging mechanisms with agerelated disease. This is a unique and timely topic. The goals of the conference:- To critically assess progress in uncovering mechanisms that result in functional decline with age and define lifespan; To determine whether the biology of aging informs on the nature and causes of age-related disease; To blend research in aging with information on age-related disease thus developing novel avenues for discovery.